Harrah's Entertainment, headed by Chief Executive Gary Loveman, leads this year's In Business list as it did last year, with annual revenue of $11.09 billion.

In Business researchers compiled the list after reviewing annual reports of public companies filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Harrah's isn't the only company making the transition from public to private, a trend analysts say is part of the natural maturation process of the casino industry.

Station Casinos, No. 9 on the list with revenue of $1.43 billion, also is being acquired by a private equity partnership, Fertitta Colony Partners LLC. The buyers include the Fertitta family, the current majority owners of Station, and Colony Capital LLC, which currently owns the Las Vegas Hilton. The $4.7 billion deal also was announced in December.

In addition, No. 15 American Casino & Entertainment Properties, making its initial appearance on the list, is being acquired by the Goldman Sachs Financial Group for $1.3 billion in a deal announced last month. American Casino operates the Stratosphere, two Las Vegas Arizona Charlies' properties and the Aquarius in Laughlin.

As the gaming industry matures, companies consolidate to meet growth expectations of investors giving second-tier companies opportunities to become major players, said Brian Gordon, principal of Las Vegas-based Applied Analysis. It also opens the door for private investors, including hedge funds and private-equity companies to enter the game.

The fact that seven of the top 10 publicly traded companies are casino operators demonstrates the confidence Wall Street has placed in the industry, Gordon said. Wall Street believes in the construction of high-density, high-rise developments, the newest strategy to expand the market.

The three companies in the top 10 that don't operate casinos have integral roles in growth - two are utility companies (No. 5 Nevada Power Co., and No. 6 Southwest Gas Corp.) and No. 7 Sierra Health Services is the market's dominant health insurance provider.

Gordon said the growth in revenue by the top companies could encourage companies to consider expanding to Southern Nevada as the city grows toward 2 million residents and more people recognize the city as a less-expensive alternative to expanding to California.

"When companies grow, it calls attention to some of the reasons companies locate here and their employees like to live here," Gordon said. "It's a strategic distribution base, the quality of life is good and taxes are low."

The fact that every public company in the top 10 had revenue in excess of $1 billion is indicative of industry growth. A year ago, eight companies had $1 billion in revenue and No. 1 Harrah's had $7.11 billion - 56 percent less than this year's top amount.

In 2000, when 40 companies were on the list, the top company had $696 million in revenue. Park Place Entertainment Corp., which operated Caesars Palace, held the top position, followed by MGM Mirage, Harrah's Entertainment and the Mandalay Resort Group. Since that time, Park Place and Harrah's merged as did MGM Mirage and Mandalay.

In addition to the prospect of Harrah's, Station Casinos and American Casino bowing out next year, two currently in the top 10 could make leaps in the rankings with the outlook of higher revenue generated by casino properties opened in Macau.

Las Vegas Sands Corp., which climbed from No. 5 to No. 4 this year with $2.34 billion in revenue, will open the Venetian Macau later this year and should have about four months of revenue in 2007 counting toward next year's revenue totals.

Wynn Resorts Ltd., which climbed from No. 11 to No. 8 with $1.6 billion in revenue, will have the benefit of a full year of revenue from its Macau property after opening there in September 2006.

One other company, No. 2 MGM Mirage, will also have the benefit of some revenue generated in Macau with the opening of a property toward the end of the year, but like Las Vegas Sands, it won't have a full year counting toward next year's list.

In addition to Harrah's, MGM Mirage, Las Vegas Sands, Wynn and Station Casinos, Boyd Gaming, which owns several Las Vegas properties, is No. 3 in the top 10 with $2.43 billion in revenue, and Ameristar Casinos, which doesn't have any properties in Southern Nevada, is No. 10 with $1.2 billion in revenue.

Twenty-five public companies are making their first appearance on the In Business list, which includes 56 entries this year.